Saturday, November 9, 2002

Bishop Robert Brom of San Diego, chairman of the seven-member panel, said he does not foresee new rules or penalties for bishops who abuse their power or mishandle a crisis. Instead, Brom said, he envisions guidelines for more informal -- perhaps private -- rebukes among the bishops.One possibility would be to empower the church's 33 geographic provinces to confront errant bishops within their borders. The archbishop of Boston, for example, has limited supervision over six other bishops in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.Whatever the final policy, Brom said any discipline or reprimand would encompass aspects of "fraternal support, fraternal challenge and even fraternal correction."